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Tag Archives: f/32 Photo

Don’t miss out on our first Lightroom Workshop this Sunday, August 18th from 1pm-7pm! But, if you can’t make that one, stay tuned for the announcement of the date for the next one. We have now added a “Classes” page to our website that has descriptions of all of our class offerings as well as links to registration pages for all the various dates and times. It is in the process of being updated with the rest of the schedule through the end of August. You can also see a calendar view of our entire schedule with registration links here. We do have the classes scheduled through the end of August and will be updating the calendar weekly with more classes and dates.

Please pay close attention to the “Location” on the registration information as all of the classes do not meet at f/32. Many of them are actually meeting downtown on Market Square. You will meet Chris (our instructor) at the back of the stage area at Market Square at the beginning of class. He will be the tall guy with a camera and a bunch of paperwork with him:)

If you haven’t “liked” us on facebook yet, you can do that as well to receive updates as new classes are posted. We will also send out information in our e-newsletter about once a week, so if you are not on our email list, you can join here.

If there are specific classes that you would like to see us add or times of day that you would like for us to have classes, please let us know by emailing us at print@f32photo.com or responding through our e-newsletters.

We are a pretty tight knit crew here at f/32 Photo. There are only five of us (not counting Wilson, because he isn’t here in the store most of the time), so we have become pretty close. Since we became f/32 Photo in May 2010, we have only had one staff member come on board, Dustin. (And he was filling a spot left by Danielle, who is still a customer, she just expanded her own business to full time). We all have a different skill set and strengths, so we work well together, one picking up where another might leave off.

You might guess where this post is headed. I knew it wouldn’t last forever, but I wasn’t quite ready to let go just yet. I guess most of the time, we never really are. However, there is a time and a purpose for everything, and it is not always for us to understand at the moment. So, we wanted to let everyone know that Tabitha will be leaving f/32 Photo at the end of March. She has an opportunity for an exciting new path in her life and will be moving out of Knoxville to pursue what lies ahead. We are so excited for her and wish her well in all that her future holds, but we will miss her terribly. Tabitha was part of the original f/32 crew and has been instrumental in our growth with her infectious personality, wonderful customer service skills, ever-growing photographic skills and knowledge, and just an innate ability to make people feel comfortable and at home. Plus, she is the only one who ever got all of my crazy movie, tv, and song references even though we are separated by more than a decade in age:) I know that many of you have formed friendships with her as well on many different levels, and they probably began because she was the familiar, cheerful voice that normally answered the phone or greeted you at the front counter.

So, even though we are sad that our season with Tabitha at f/32 is coming to an end, we wish her the best in all that the future holds for her. We hope that you will have the opportunity to stop by to see her this month and say goodbye before she leaves Knoxville. Hers will be difficult shoes to fill.

We have experienced quite a bit of change at f/32 in the last 60 days, all of it so exciting! One of the latest things that may seem small to most is a dream come true for us. We have our very own display window facing Montvue road (that road that runs between West Town Mall and our shopping center). We have never had any road side signage of any kind, so we are pretty happy about this change of events.

So, if you are driving by, be sure to safely glance in our direction and check out our window! We aren’t up to Macy’s standards yet by any means, but for our first window display, I thought it turned out pretty well. More exciting and elaborate ones to come in the future I’m sure:) But for now, we just want this one to say who we are and what we do, or at least give folks a reason to stop in because they are intrigued:) Stay tuned for progress updates on more exciting changes at f/32! And don’t forget to print…it is the best way to archive:)

WOW! What an exciting end we had to 2012! We (finally) moved into our new location just in time for a wonderful season of Santa portraits!

While many things were different this year, like plenty of space and our fun new backdrop, one thing most certainly didn’t change! We were once again blessed with some incredible little visitors! Some of you we have had the opportunity to watch grow year after year and others were first timers but altogether you all made one fabulous year! Thank you all for coming to see us and for making this year’s Santa Experience one we will always remember!

If your little (or not so little) ones came to see Santa this year see if you can find them in our video!

If you have been waiting to make photo books for Christmas gifts (or any other reason for that matter), now is the time to act! Between now and December 2nd, use the coupon code XMAS25 and receive 25% off your photo book (digital paper) order with us. Click here for more information on the books and how to get started with the FREE design software.

If you can’t make it happen by December 1st, not to worry, you will still be able to receive 20% off your digital paper Photo Book order between December 2nd and December 16th. Simply use the code XMAS20.

In addition we have the following offers that are valid from December 1st to December 31st.

30% on orders of $150 or more*. Coupon Code: SANTACLAUS

$15 off any order of $70 or more*. Coupon Code: RUDOLFRED

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off the exact same 2nd book for all 8×8 Medium photo books*. Coupon Code: LETITSNOW

Coupon codes are valid for all orders of 4EverBooks photo books (excluding shipping and handling fees) as described above. All coupon codes end at Midnight PST unless stated otherwise. Each code may be used as stated above. Offer valid on a single order which may contain 4EverBooks photo books of different sizes and cover types. One coupon code per order. Offer cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount. Coupon codes cannot be applied to orders previously submitted and are not subject to refund.

If only you knew the back story of actually getting this camera into our hands…well, I won’t bore you with that. The important thing is that it is here now and we are so excited to add this Canon 5dMarkIII to the rental program at f/32 Photo. Since it literally just arrived, it currently has no reservations on the books. So, who is going to be the first one to put it to good use? It is available for this weekend (or sooner if you need it) as of this writing. The rental rates for the Canon 5DMarkIII are as follows: 3 days – $150, 4 days – $175, 7 days – $199, and 10 days – $275. You can make rental reservations by calling us at 865-934-0909 or emailing us at print@f32photo.com. Wonder what else is offered through our rental program? Check out the entire listing on our website by clicking here.

Thanks for renting with us! We will keep you updated here as we continue to add to our rental program as well as other services.

If you have been in f/32 in the last week, you may have wondered “Who is that guy behind the counter?”. Well, the girls are f/32 are happy to introduce you to Dustin! We are so excited to have Dustin on board with us and look forward to discovering the new perspective and depth of knowledge that we know he is going to bring.

Dustin is from Nashville and has recently transferred to the University of Tennessee where he is working on completing his Bachelors in Fine Art degree. He has an Associate’s Degree with a concentration in Photography and the technical aspects of digital printmaking. He also has several years experience in commercial photography and still enjoys shooting film:) Dustin’s long term goal is to teach photography at a collegiate level. So, we hope that his time and experience here at f/32 will help him grow toward his goal and help us grow in ways to better serve our photographic community.

Welcome aboard Dustin! Be sure to drop in and say hi and introduce yourselves!
– The Crew at f/32

One of Dustin’s favorite shots of himself:) We thought it was appropriate since we are all over the heat and looking forward to the cooler part of the year that will soon be upon us!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, this thing we call a “photographic community”. While Knoxville may be the third largest city in the state, it’s really one of those “large small towns”. Most photographers (and there are a LOT of us) here know each other, or knows someone who knows someone else. It may only be on Facebook, but most of us are connected in some way. When we work together to support each other and the craft, that is a powerful community. And while it used to be that photographers did not want to share their “trade secrets” or knowledge with other photographers for fear of training their competition, I really don’t see much of that anymore from my vantage point in the industry, which is refreshing.

That brings me to the point of this post. A couple of weeks ago, the national AYSO soccer tournaments were in Knoxville and we had several people come into f/32 Photo to rent equipment for shooting the games. One day, we had two Dads with cameras who had brought their kids all the way from Utah and needed help in selecting and renting equipment that would allow them to accomplish what they wanted within their knowledge base and budget. So, as we talked about what bodies they would be shooting with, their overall photographic knowledge, and what they wanted to be able to capture in the time they were here, I was doing my best to draw on all of the sports photography tips that I have learned to help them make the best decision. Let me qualify that these were two incredibly honest and humble Dads who freely admitted that they had nice cameras but mostly shot on scene modes because they didn’t understand the manual creative modes. Hey, we all had to start somewhere. It’s much easier to work from the place of where someone actually is in terms of skill level and not where they think they are. So, I’m explaining how to shoot in Shutter priority (because I didn’t think I should throw metering and Manual mode at them in the beginning) and why it would be beneficial to them for what they were shooting. Now, I’m not a sports photographer, but I have had the privilege and opportunity to work with a great sports photographer in our area, Hobe Brunson, and he had taught me a thing or two that have really helped me. So, I’m trying to recall and regurgitate the things that Hobe has taught me when in he walks through the door. I asked him if he was in a hurry and if not, would he mind giving these two gentlemen some pointers. He graciously agreed and began discussing the best lens options for them, how to set their cameras, and how to shoot to get the best results. They took lenses outside and practiced with them, Hobe set up their cameras for them, and we even had to look a few things up since they had camera bodies that neither of us shoot regularly. At the end of the discussion, I even heard Hobe give them his cell number in case they had any trouble once they got to the games and couldn’t figure something out. He said that he didn’t know if he would be able to help them over the phone, but he would try. These are two people he had never met, would probably never see again, and gained nothing from how well their images turned out or not. Totally altruistic. It did my heart good to see a photographer that I respect and admire passing it on in such a way.

A few days later, Hobe came in the store and told me that those two guys had sent him an email thanking him for all of his help. They also said that he made it look much easier than it actually was:) Hopefully, they captured some amazing memories for their kids though. That was their goal and what it was all about. I’m thankful that Hobe was there at the right time to help make that happen!

Many of you have requested it, and we have now been able to fulfill your wish…

Come in and try out our brand new touchscreen Photo Kiosk! If has the same ordering format as our ordering system on our website, so you may already be familiar. If you can order it online, you can order it at the kiosk in store. That means not only prints, but cards, collages, buttons, magnets, and more coming very soon!

Many of you may remember the old kiosk that used to sit on the front counter. In a word, it was terrible. So, we decided the best thing to do was just remove it and help everyone with their on site orders through on of our computers until we could find a better solution. That has worked pretty well, but many people don’t want help and just want to come in and place their order on their own. Now, that is an option once again! However, if you like having someone help you and walk through things with you, we certainly still offer that service as well! We understand that sometimes making decisions on images and enlargements can be tough, so we are perfectly willing and able to be the objective third party that you sometimes need. So, please know that you are by no means ever expected to use the kiosk! It is certainly your choice as to which type of service better fits your needs. We are just happy that we can provide both.

So, come on in and give it a try! We are more than happy to walk you through any part of it that you need assistance with as well. Oh, and see that awesome shot of Lisa (our lab manager) hanging above the kiosk? That is a 20×24 print that was made from an image taken with an iPhone 4s! Take a close look at it when you are in the store. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with files from the newer cell phone cameras! By the way, we print those as well. Look for a mobile app coming soon, but as of now, we can print them in store for you (or you are welcome to email them to us at print@f32photo.com with print instructions). Soon you will be able to connect your iPhone to the kiosk and print straight from there!

Wow, my head is still spinning from everything that I learned and saw last week at our annual IPI retreat (that’s where all the photo lab people get together to share and learn new things)! It is so nice to work in such a creative industry where people are willing to share and help each other grow.

Now that the retreat is behind us, I have a to do list at least a mile long! That means lots of new and exciting things will be happening at f/32 Photo, so be sure to stay dialed in to our blog and facebook pages as we announce all the new happenings:)

While it is great to get away and gain some new perspective on ways to grow and improve, I kept finding myself thinking of everyone at home. When I was looking at various new products, I could envision each one of them with work from our specific customers. Again, one of my favorite things about being a local business is actually having a relationship and knowing our customers. I can’t wait to see some of your creations and visions on products that are coming soon…

One of the things I can mention now is that we are actively expanding our rental offerings due to increased demand. We most recently added a Sigma 24-70 lens for Nikon and next week we will be getting a Sigma 24-70 lens for Canon! There are also a few more new items that should be here next week. I’m going to hold off on their specifics though until I actually have them in hand…

Thanks to each and every one of you who work with and support us at f/32 Photo. We will continue to strive to support you, your businesses, and your passions in every way that we can.

Oh, if you missed the 5:00 news yesterday on WBIR, check out this link to see a great segment on photography and how the digital age has affected it. You’ll see a familiar face from f/32:)